Marya Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867, in Poland. Marya’s father wanted his five children to go to college, but the family was poor. In fact, Marya worked for six years to make money so her elder sister Bronya could study medicine at the Sorbonne in Paris. When Bronya finished medical school in 1891, 23-year-o1d Marya Sklodowska went to Paris to begin her own studies.
Once she arrived in Paris, Marya changed her name to the French form, Marie. After living with Bronya and her husband for a short time, she moved to a less expensive set of rooms near the university so she could study in peace. Marie was very poor, but even among her difficult living conditions, she was happy.
In July 1893, Marie passed her physics exam first in her class. At this time, she met Pierre Curie, a young scientist. Marie and Pierre found that they had much in common. They both believed that science was the most important part of their lives. They didn’t care about money or about being comfortable. They fell in love, and were married on July 26, 1895. Marie and Pierre Curie were very happy. They discussed their work as well as the most recent scientific events, such as the discovery of X rays. Marie was interested in this research, and began to look for unknown elements that had such rays. Pierre Curie stopped his own research in order to help Marie in her work. He realized that she was about to make an important discovery.
In 1898, the Curies discovered two new elements that gave off X rays. In those days, no one knew that such materials were dangerous. They did not know that working with these materials caused their illnesses, and they kept working. Finally, in 1902, they proved that radium is real.
On June 25, 1903, Madam Curie became the first woman to receive a doctor of science degree from the Sorbonne. Then she received an even greater award. In 1903, Marie and Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics.
The Curies continued to work closely together until a terrible event happened. In April, 1906, Pierre was killed in a street accident. Marie was very sad, but she continued working. Then, in 1910, she made pure radium. It was Marie Curie’s biggest success. In 1911, she received the Nobel Prize again, in chemistry. She was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize, and the first person to receive it twice.
Over the years, Marie’s constant work with radium continued to hurt her health. She died on July 4, 1934, from an illness caused by her life’s work: radium. Madam Curie never cared about making any money from her discoveries. Her life had been one of hard work; however, in her family life she was happily married and had two daughters. As a scientist, she made important discoveries and achieved greatness in her field.
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Marie Curie: A Twentieth-Century Woman 课文讲解
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